The United States is prepared to send additional troops to Iraq to help train and advise Iraqi forces as they prepare to retake the critical city of Mosul from Islamic State militants this fall, a U.S. defense official said Wednesday.

The additional forces would total between 500 and 600, according to multiple media reports. Currently, the number of U.S. military personnel in Iraq is approximately 4,565, according to the senior official, who did not want to be named because he is not authorized to discuss the number publicly.

Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, was captured by the Islamic State in 2014. The Iraqi military has been ousting the militants from other Iraqi cities and has been moving in to retake what would be the largest Islamic State stronghold in the country.
NEWS COLLECTED FROM USA TODAY.